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Buying a Car

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I only bought one car, which is a 10-year-old Toyota. What I'm writing here is based on what I experienced and what I learned while searching online. Some of the points are just my hunches and I don't have solid evidence for them, so I marked them with [Hunch].

Defining the Criteria​

Defining the criteria helps you narrow down the search results to a manageable number of candidates. It starts with a budget (the maximum amount you're willing to spend). For the rest, I ended up focusing on a single brand and model, a minimum year, and a mileage range where I could find reasonable cars. You can also put your budget range into aggregator sites to get an idea of which models and criteria are available within your budget.

Answering these questions can help you define the criteria:

  • What do you need the car for? Long-distance travel, city driving, commuting to work, short trips, etc.
  • Is there a specific brand or model that you're interested in?
    • If it's a premium brand, are you willing to pay a premium price for it and its maintenance costs?
  • Do you want an electric car?
  • Do you want a manual or automatic transmission?
  • Which features are you willing to pay a premium for?
  • (For older cars) Do you prefer more reliable brands ([Hunch] like Toyota)?
  • Are you okay with buying an imported car? Imported cars might be riskier, but they're often a bit cheaper than local cars with the same mileage and year.
  • Do you want to buy a car from a private seller or a dealership?

Finding a Car​

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Ideally, set up an automation that regularly (e.g. every 10 minutes) checks aggregator sites for new listings. It's possible that good candidate cars are reserved for a test drive and sold very quickly—faster than aggregator email alerts.

I checked the following places because I wanted to buy my car from a dealership:

These are other options that I didn't use:

What to Check​

Car History Report​

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[Hunch] It is a big red flag for me if the car seller doesn't share the car's license plate number in their listing, making it harder to find more information about the car. You might be able to get the license plate number from the seller by asking them.

As I bought my car in the Netherlands, these resources are mostly local to the Netherlands' market. Some of these services also give a free overview report that you can combine to find red flags about the car:

First check RDW License Plate Check. This is the official source for the car's information in the Netherlands, and it's free. You can find some useful information about the car from RDW. I recommend going over the report and checking all the sections. Here are some of the parts I found useful:

  • Number of owners (both private and commercial) in the past 9 years. For older cars, other (usually paid) reports are more reliable.
  • Whether the car has been imported or not, by checking whether Datum eerste toelating (Date of first admission) and Datum eerste tenaamstelling in Nederland (Date of first registration in the Netherlands) match.
  • Tellerstanden (Odometer reading) only gives a vague answer like "logical", but it's the same data that some other paid reports also provide.

Sources​

Check the following services, which are usually paid but sometimes provide a free overview report that can still be useful:

  • Carfax: For imported cars, I would definitely get a Carfax report because other services mostly use local sources for their reports.
  • kentekencheck: The report is relatively cheap and gives you some useful information about the car.
  • CarScanner: I only used its free report.

What to Look for​

  • Advertisement history of the car can give you some idea of how long the car has been on the market and, if it's been on the market for a long time, you can look into why it hasn't been sold.
  • A more detailed APK history and APK recommendations give you an idea of the car's condition and the state of its maintenance.
  • Odometer reading history gives you an idea whether the car has been driven regularly or has been sitting idle for an extended time.
  • Ownership history can hint at potential problems if an owner sold the car after a short period of time.
  • [Hunch] Business cars (that might be leased cars) have a good maintenance history but are not necessarily well looked after, especially for the car interior, since the owner may not have the incentive to keep it in good condition (apart from the exterior).

Maintenance History​

Check the car's maintenance history in its maintenance booklet.

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Some sellers share the car's maintenance history in their listing, which is a good sign. Sometimes the maintenance history can be found on the seller's website, but not on aggregator sites.

  • Make sure the car is maintained according to the owner's manual, at least once a year.
  • [Hunch] I trust the car better if it has been maintained by a reputable garage, preferably by an authorized dealer.
    • For Toyota hybrids, if the car has been maintained by an authorized dealer, the battery will be covered by an extended warranty.
  • [Hunch] Take note of the mileage difference between services. A balanced maintenance history is a good sign that the car has been used regularly. If the car has been sitting idle for an extended time, some parts may have degraded.
  • It would be ideal if you could see the detailed maintenance history, as it gives you a better idea of the car's condition, but it's not always possible.

Test Drive​

  • Before testing your candidate car, test-drive multiple cars of the same model, same year (or close), and similar mileage to see how the car drives and feels, then compare them with your candidate car:
    • Handling and Steering
    • Acceleration
    • Engine sound in different RPMs
    • Braking
    • Noise at highway speeds
    • Suspension feel and noise, especially over road bumps
    • Interior Wear and Tear
  • Interior: Wear and tear compared to other test drives.
  • Air conditioner: Put the air conditioner on full blast and see if it cools the car down quickly and heats up quickly.
  • Exterior
    • Any sign of rust or paint damage.
    • Scratches or dents
    • Any misalignments between different parts of the exterior. They might be a sign of an accident or repair work that may not have been reported in the history reports.
    • Different shades of paint might be a sign of a repair job.
  • Professional inspection (e.g. Expert2Go): Especially if you're buying a car from a private seller, a professional inspection can help you find hidden issues.

Red Flags​

These might make it harder for you to resell the car in the future, or might require some extra maintenance costs:

  • Accidents
  • Noticeable exterior damage
  • Improper maintenance
  • Sitting idle for an extended time
  • Servicing at unknown garages

Seller​

  • Authorized Dealer: [Hunch] An authorized dealer, especially if you're buying a car with some sort of maintenance-upon-delivery package, has access to authorized maintenance tools (e.g. a battery health check). Since they're guaranteeing the maintenance, it's less likely for them to sell a car with a hidden issue.
  • Price of BOVAG or their own warranty: If the price doesn't match the market price, it might be a sign of unfair pricing or anti-consumer business practices.

Final Check Before Buying​

  • Keys: It might be obvious, but the car must have two keys.
  • Accessories: Make sure the car has all the accessories it should have. The car I bought didn't have the cover for the luggage compartment, and initially the dealer claimed it was an optional accessory. I had to go through some back-and-forth to prove it was a mandatory accessory; they then contacted the previous owner and got it back.
  • BOVAG Guarantee: [Hunch] I would feel more confident buying a car with a BOVAG guarantee, as I can get the car repaired if I encounter an issue that I couldn't find when checking the car.